Residents of Jasper, Alta., are to learn further details today about the plan to allow them to return home three weeks after a massive wildfire forced them to flee.
Mayor Richard Ireland and field unit superintendent Alan Fehr are scheduled to update what is being called a “phased re-entry” into the town on Friday.
The town’s 5,000 residents, along with 20,000 more visitors, were forced out on July 22, just days before a wind-whipped fire roared in and destroyed a third of town buildings.
Early figures indicate the fires destroyed $283 million worth of property, which works out to a $2.2-million loss in annual property tax revenue for the townsite.
Key infrastructure was spared from the flames but still needs work.
Jasper’s public school district is racing against time to get smoke-damaged schools ready in time for the start of classes, cleaning and fixing everything from fire alarms to fish tanks.